Landscapes of Economic Liberalism: Archaeological Survey of the Muskingum River Navigation in Southeast Ohio

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Roads, Rivers, Rails and Trails (and more): The Archaeology of Linear Historic Properties" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

The Muskingum River Navigation, a slackwater canal system constructed from 1837-1841, made use of the natural topography of southeastern Ohio to transport agricultural and commercial products from the regional interior to the Ohio River. The first slackwater canal system built in the U.S., it included 11 dams, 12 locks and 5 bypass canals between the towns of Coshocton and Marietta. Built and paid for by the State of Ohio, and later maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Muskingum River Navigation is one example of the ways in which the developing American version of economic liberalism (characterized in part by the use of public resources to stimulate private markets) imprinted itself on the American landscape during the 19th century. A cultural resources survey of part of the canal system has helped to situate our understanding of the Muskingum River Navigation within the larger economic landscape of southeastern Ohio.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Roads, Rivers, Rails and Trails (and more): The Archaeology of Linear Historic Properties   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2020

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 289